Tensions between the ad and product sides at ad-driven media companies are inherent. The ad side wants to maximize revenue, which can conflict with the user experience. At Axios, former employees said, the lofty goal of serving the reader sometimes ran up against the pursuit of ad dollars.

That's an amazingly insightful paragraph, but it's also what's assumed by us readers. It's not new information. It's confirming a long-held belief.

At media orgs, bloated, nearly useless websites may not have come from developers and designers on their own. Other departments might have forced the developers and the designers to bloat websites with ads and other crapware, harming the user experience.

Ad people don't care about the UI/UX.

For one thing, the company has launched multiple newsletters, 18 in total, which, as some see it, runs the risk of confusing readers. And Axios just bought Kendall Baker's Sports Internet newsletter and will relaunch it as Axios Sports on January 7.

It's pretty wild that email newsletters can be bought.

This part by Axios is confusing.

A planned mobile app was another sore point mentioned by some former employees. The goal was to make the app distinct from the website, but leaders would add web-like features that would water down the differentiation, people involved said. Months of work later, the app never came out, as the project ended up being delayed to this year.

About the business:

And by its own accounts, Axios is still in strong growth mode. It has said revenue would double in 2018, to more than $20 million, and projects doubling revenue yet again in 2019. Axios has 145 employees, up from 35 at launch, and plans to add another 60 in 2019. Original and new investors put in another $20 million less than a year after the company's founding.

I'm beyond excited to announce that Sports Internet has been acquired by Axios and will be relaunching as Axios Sports on Monday.

When I launched Sports Internet, the description I wrote in my notepad read: "Axios but for sports." I kid you not. Needless to say, I've been inspired by their formatting, style and brevity since day one.